Because I Love You
by Gamma Orionis
Summary: Draco can no longer contain his feelings for Luna. Written for Taragh McCarthy's Your Choice Lyrical Challenge.


Author's Notes: Written for Taragh McCarthy's Your Choice Lyrical Challenge on the HPFC forum, in which the entrant chooses three or more lyrics from a list, and must incorporate them into a story.

Though this can stand alone, reading my other Druna stories might help clarify the dynamic between them as I see it. And this seems to be a problem with Druna stories, so please don't favourite without leaving a review.

Enjoy.

)O(

Luna was starting to frighten Draco. When she looked at him, the sweet, gentle innocence that had always graced her expression was absent, and what emotion was in her eyes jumped between fear and dismay.

This should have been a relief to Draco. He had thought that his reason for feeling… whatever it was he felt towards Luna had been that she was simply too sweet not to care about. Now that he had shown her how hateful a human being he was, surely his… feelings would subside. He would no longer need to be defensive, fight against his emotions.

Not so. Seeing Luna when he brought her food, staring at him with an expression that clearly said _Why?_ only served to make Draco despise himself. Luna was an angel, a bloody angel, and he was keeping her cooped up in the Manor basement for no reason other than because the Dark Lord said to.

If only he didn't have to see her so often, perhaps he wouldn't feel so absurdly, insanely, irrationally attached to her. But, of course, to reason with his aunt as to why he did not want to bring food to Luna would be as futile as to reason to the Dark Lord as to why Luna should be set free.

He knocked on her cell door, lightly, as he had taken to doing. There was no answer from Luna, and he gently pushed the door in.

Luna was curled in the corner of the room, knees drawn up to her chest, silvery eyes wider than ever and wilder too. She was speaking under her breath, in a constant hiss of indecipherable words. When Draco entered, her mouth snapped shut and she looked to him like a cornered animal.

"I… brought your…" Draco couldn't form the words properly. Since he had last seen her, Luna had completed some sort of internal transformation, from hurt yet hopeful to utterly shattered.

"The wrackspurts," she said, waving one hand feebly through the air as though batting something away from her head. "They were talking to me."

Draco didn't know what to do. He was no stranger to insanity – he had been living with his aunt for two years now, after all, and she was far from the only person he knew who could be considered clinically insane, but seeing such obvious madness painted onto Luna Lovegood, who despite her eccentricity had always seemed so down to Earth…

"They say it's beautiful outside," she said quietly. "Springtime, hmm?"

"Are you… are you all right, Luna?" Draco asked, knowing what a stupid question it was.

Luna buried her face in her hands, rocked back and forth. After a few long moments, she raised her head again. The wild madness was gone from her eyes, replaced with a sort of deadened helplessness.

"I'm not so very bad, Draco," she said, voice lacking emotion. "Not as bad as I could be."

"I'm sorry, Luna," Draco said, not knowing what else he could tell her. "You know how sorry I am for not–"

"If you were sorry, you'd help me."

"I know!"

Luna shut her mouth and lowered her eyes, staring at her folded hands.

"I'm sorry, Draco," she murmured.

Draco snapped. He was holding Luna Lovegood, a girl he… well, he cared for captive, and _she_ was the one apologizing? No! That was wrong!

He drew back his hand and struck her across the face.

It wasn't a hard slap, and the instant his hand touched her, Draco was horrified. Was he out of his mind? Why was he hitting her when he… when she was so good?

"I'm sorry, Luna," he whispered, horrorstruck. "I didn't mean to…"

She put her fingers to her cheek, and a tear glistened at the corner of her silver eye. Draco was disgusted with himself – how could he have done such a horrible thing to a girl who had done nothing but be far too good for Draco.

He cursed. "Dammit, Luna, why do you always make me feel like _I'm_ the one that's crazy?"

"I don't understand what you mean," she said, staring helplessly at him. "I don't mean to make you feel like you're crazy at all…"

"Well, you do! You're supposed to be the crazy one! Not me! Don't say you're sorry!" he added when she opened her mouth. "You're not supposed to be sorry! You're supposed to be happy and unrepentant and… and…"

Luna tilted her head and met his eyes dead on.

"And what, Draco?"

He snapped.

Draco dropped the tray to the ground and fell to his knees, gripped either side of Luna's head, and pressed his mouth against hers.

Luna didn't react right away. She sat perfectly still, let Draco kiss her. And as hard as he kissed her, he just wanted to kiss her harder, wanted to demonstrate whatever it was that he was feeling for her. Nothing could stop the burning desire he had to make her understand that what he felt, whatever it was.

Draco finally drew back, and stared at Luna, wondering how she would react. Angry, surely. He was keeping her hostage – or, well, allowing her to be a hostage – and he had just kissed her, and against her will. She would be upset, she would just hate him even more than she surely already did…

"Why did you do that, Draco?" she asked quietly.

"Because…" he searched for something to say. He didn't think there were real words for exactly what he felt for Luna Lovegood.

She waited, watching him, while he wracked his brains for the words.

"Because I love you," he said at last.

)O(

_Fin_


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